Rose and Chester Share a Bath

Since the arrival of Rose, Chester has taken his role as big brother very seriously.  He has been by her side since we brought her home from the hospital.  No matter where she is, he always wants to be by her side.  When she starts to cry, he is right there..."ok what the matter?  Are you hungry?  Do you need a diaper change?"  What ever the case, he is on it.  Here he is watching over her and even helping to give Rose a bath.

Rose and the Boys

Saturday morning we had the whole menagerie hanging out on the bed, so of course everyone wanted some camera time including Zoe. But the best shot is saved for the end. Enjoy!

Chester is Doing Great

It is hard to believe that it has been 5 weeks since Chester's accident and surgery. He is doing amazingly well. After his emergency surgery he spent 2 weeks at the University Hospital in Bern. During his stay his neurologist and two physical therapist worked with him every day. He did hydrotherapy and ultrasound therapy twice a day. He made tremendous progress and we were able to bring him home on Friday February 20th. Amy's friend Karen, who is boarding a horse here on the farm, comes by once a week to do accupressure on the little guy. As you can see from the video he has made great progress.

Chester Update: Post Op Day 5

We saw Chester for the first time since his surgery on Sunday. We left this morning around 7:30 for the hour long drive north to Bern. Both Amy and I were a bit anxious, although we have been getting daily reports from his neurologist, we still weren't sure what to expect. Would he be the same old crazy Chester man, full of attitude and energy or would he just lay there? Prior to his accident we really thought Chester was bomb proof. For a little dog he is tough as nails. He does everything with a sense of reckless abandon. He throws himself out of bed in the morning, scrambles down the stairs, plays ball for hours, eats like its his last meal. He races around the cow pastures, hurls himself down snow banks and takes on all comers at the dog park. Is he going to be that same dog?

Well, it did not take long for that question to be answered. When Dr. Alves brought us to the therapy room where he stays with 3 other dogs, Chester was at the gate monitoring the hallway and standing (ok sitting) guard over the room. When he saw Amy it was all he could do to contain himself. I was scared at first, thinking he was going to rupture another disc from all of the excitement. He practically licked our noses off our faces. We sat on the floor with him as he scooted between Amy, myself and the therapist, just as happy as can be. He is so full of life, so full of confidence, I don't think he really realizes his legs don't work.


After playing with some toys we brought him, Chester went into the pool for some hyrotherapy. The pool is a large tank with a treadmill. They placed Chester on the treadmill and lowered it into the water. They use the water to reduce the weight on his legs and try to stimulate the walking motion with the treadmill. Two therapists work his rear legs as he pulls himself forward with his front legs. He is showing a tremendous amount of determination and will power to get better. After the pool Amy worked with him on his standing balance. Then we took him outside for a walk, assisting his rear legs with a strap around his waist to lift his rear legs. All and all we spent two hours with the little guy. It was tough to leave him, but we know he is in great hands there at the University of Bern Veterinary Hospital. We can't say enough about what an amazing staff he has looking after him. His roommates and therapy buddies, Buffy and Lilly keep him company and motivated. Yes, it has been a tough week, and we have at least another week of therapy before he can come home, but we feel so very fortunate for all the loving, caring and highly trained people who have made it their goal that he walk again. Check out the video below of Chester's hydrotherapy session.

Chester Update: Post Op Day 2

We are so pleased with the care Chester is receiving at the University of Bern Veterinary Hospital. He has a full team looking after him that includes a surgeon, anesthesiologist, neurologist and physiotherapist. The neurologist calls us every morning to give us a report on his progress. Today she was pleased to provide the news that he was urinating and defecating without assistance. He is off all of the pain medication and along with reacting to pain stimulus, he is starting to move his left hind leg. His muscles have loosened allowing the physiotherapist to work with him in the therapy pool (I am sure he will enjoy that, he loves to water.) She also said his fear has subsided and is less anxious. Amy had planned to go visit him today, but decided against it after hearing how well he had improved. Visiting him would have made Amy feel good, but upon leaving Chester would have likely suffered from another spate of separation anxiety. We were told it is better to wait to see him when we are able to take him home with us to avoid the anxiety. Thank you all again for your support.

Chester Injury

At 10am this morning, Chester and I were playing in the snow with his favorite ball. He suddenly loss function in his left hind leg. Amy recognized the potential severity of the situation and we quickly rushed him to the emergency vet and specialty hospital in Bern. Upon arrival he had loss function in both legs. The MRI showed a ruptured disc between the thoraco lumbar 12 and 13. This is not uncommon with Dachshunds, however it is with a dog as young as Chester (1 and half years). The MRI also showed adnormalities of the disc along most of the spinal column. So the condition is likely genetic, and the continuous play and jumping combined with the cold weather resulted in the acute rupture. The ruptured disc was applying pressure and decreasing blood flow to the spinal cord. This resulted in paralysis of his hind legs. He went into surgery at around 5pm where a hemilaminectomy was performed to remove the disc material and pressure from the spinal cord. According to the surgeon everything has gone well and they will try to feed him tonight. He will remain in the ICU and be monitored by the neurologist until Friday. Because of Amy's quick response and us getting him to the surgeon in less than 12 hours the prognosis is good for a full recovery. Please keep the little guy in your thoughts and I will keep this blog updated with his progress. To learn more about the hemilaminectomy: http://www.michvet.com/library/neurology_ivds_thoracolumbar.asp